Appointments

Appointment Times

Monday to Friday: 08.00am – 18:30hrs

We offer early morning appointments with one of our Nurse Practitioners / Prescribers from 07:00hrs on a Thursday. These are all bookable up to 6 weeks ahead. Booking early will mean you are more likely to be able to see the doctor or nurse of your choice at a time most convenient to you. Please make a separate appointment for each person who needs to see a doctor or nurse, also note that only one health problem can be discussed during an appointment.

Extended Access Appoitments

Currently unavailable.

Telephoning the Doctor

If you would wish to speak to the doctor, please ring after 10.00am and the receptionist will advise you when a doctor will be available for a telephone consultation. Interruptions during surgery are upsetting for both doctors and patients. For this reason, receptionists have been asked not to disturb consultations with telephone calls.

Out of hours - emergency calls only

If you require a doctor or advice URGENTLY outside normal surgery hours please telephone 111. The recorded message will give you the number to ring for the duty doctor or a deputising service.

PLEASE NOTE this service is for emergencies which require immediate attention. The doctor may speak with you over the phone and give advice, but will only visit you if he/she feels it cannot wait for surgery to open.

Telephone booking

For routine / non urgent appointments, please ring 01582 602082 at 08:00hrs for a morning and from 12:30hrs for an afternoon same day appointment, should you need an urgent (genuinely urgent) appointment, please telephone any time but earlier the better. Please note that the Receptionist will need a brief explanation as to the reason for the appointment.

On-line booking

Did you know you can book your appointments online? You will need a user ID, which you can get by downloading the request form from the Home page .

Home Visits

Please telephone 01582 664401 before 11.00am if you need a home visit. Please do not request a home visit if you are able to come to the surgery. The receptionist will ask some questions to assist the doctor in deciding the urgency of each case. Please provide the patient's name, address, age and your telephone number.

Zero Tolerance

When speaking to any member of staff from the Surgery, could you please speak to them appropriately and in a manner in which you would like to be spoken to yourself. Reception staff are under an extreme volume of pressure and are there to assist you in your hour of need.

Urgent appointments

Each day we reserve some appointments for urgent problems which cannot wait. If you need an urgent appointment please be prepared to give our receptionists some information to assess the level of urgency.

Confidentiality

All staff working in the NHS has a legal duty of confidentiality towards patients. This is written into their Contracts of Employment and they are trained in their responsibility to protect it, however, if necessary, information is shared with other health care professionals such as community nurses, health visitors and social workers if they are involved with your care. If you need referring to a hospital consultant, your doctor will explain this to you and obtain your consent to do so.

No information concerning a patient will be given to a third party without the consent of the patient involved. Please note that you cannot request information about your spouse, partner or a child over 16 without their specific consent being given directly to us in advance, preferably in writing. If your employer, insurance company or other organisation requests information about you, you must first provide us with your written consent for the information to be disclosed. You have a right to read any report before it is sent, provided that you have stated so in your written consent.

The only exceptions to these rules are governed by law.

Private Services

Some services are not covered by the NHS. We are able to offer these as private services, however, please be aware that there will be a fee for this.

If you have travelled abroad for a procedure eg gastric band /implants, please inform the Surgery so that your records can be updated , as we will not be aware of this unless we are informed by you.